Dmitri's POV

I turned my head at the sound of her screm with the motion awkward in my half-shifted state and my vision now so full of heat and shadow zeroed in on her.

Alicia stood frozen in the balcony doorway, her hand clamped over her mouth, eyes wide with a terror so pure it was almost intoxicating.

A low guttural rumble started in my chest. It was supposed to be words but it came out as something else entirely. A monster's greeting.

"Like what you see?" I managed to grind out, my voice a distorted thing of gravel and growl with the human words stretching to fit my changing muzzle.

That did it. She screamed again in a sharp piercing sound of pure fright and scrambled backward. She fumbled with the glass balcony door, her hands shaking so badly she could barely grip it and she slammed it shut with a force that surprised even me.

The glass panels shuddered then cracked, a spider web of fractures exploding out from the frame before shattering into a thousand glittering pieces on the floor.

I couldn't help it. A dark rumbling chuckle escaped me.

That first glimpse... that fear... I lived for it. It never got old. She was seeing the real me. Not Dmitri, the Don of the Velvet Mafia but Dmitri, the Alpha of the Stonehurst Pack!

I watched through the broken door as she spun around with her panic a sweet scent in the air. She made a desperate dash for the main door to the hallway. Freedom. Cute.

With a powerful push of my legs, I leaped. I cleared the room in one bound, landing between her and the door with a soft thud that shook the floorboards.

She skidded to a halt, a whimper catching in her throat. The fear in her eyes was a live wire as she backed away, tripped over her own feet and fell onto the bed, scrambling backward until she hit the headboard, cowering.

I just stood there, waiting. Letting the transformation finish its course. The bones in my face finished rearranging, the dark brown fur thickening over my muscles. In seconds, a huge, dark-brown wolf stood where a man had been.

I stayed still and calm letting her absorb the impossible. I saw the full moon through the broken window, a bright silver coin in the sky. Then blessedly, a cloud slid over it dimming its call. I focused my will, pulling the beast back in, folding it away until I was just a naked man again, standing in a room littered with glass.

Alicia had squeezed her eyes shut as if that could erase what she'd just seen. As if we hadn't been tangled together on this very bed just moments ago fucking our minds out. I almost laughed.. the human capacity for denial was truly astounding.

I walked to a chair where my trousers were draped and pulled them on. The simple act seemed to terrify her more than the wolf had. When I approached the bed, she shrank away, pressing herself against the wood.

"Don't! Don't come near me!" she screamed, her voice cracking.

"Calm the fuck down." I said, my voice back to its normal low timbre though a bit rough around the edges. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're a monster!" she shrieked, pointing a trembling finger at me.

I shrugged, walking to the dresser and picking up a cigar. I clipped the end, lit it and took a long, slow draw and the smoke was a familiar comfort.

"Yeah. I know."

She kept screaming, the sound grating on my already raw nerves. The adrenaline was fading and a headache was starting to pulse behind my eyes. I snapped.

"Enough!" My voice cut through her panic like a whip. "Shut the fuck up!"

She instantly clammed up, her screams dissolving into choked silent sobs. Her whole body trembled and I sighed, blowing out a ring of smoke.

"I'm a werewolf." I said like I was telling her the time. Simple facts. "I can change when I want. Mostly. But the first night of a new moon... it's a bit of a bitch. Likes to happen on its own schedule like you just saw."

She shook her head wildly, her hair a mess around her pale face.

"No. That's not... that's not real. Werewolves aren't real!"

I gave her a flat look.

"Were you not paying attention two minutes ago? Or did you think I was just a very enthusiastic furry?"

"But... but then what about vampires? And dragons?!" she stammered, her mind desperately trying to find logic in a world that had just stopped making sense.

I scoffed.

"Now you're just talking movie crap. This isn't a fantasy novel, kotik. This is my life." She was clearly in shock and arguing was pointless. "Get some sleep. Process. We'll talk when your brain decides to rejoin the party."

I turned to leave, ready to find a very large bottle of whiskey. I needed to wash the taste of transformation out of my mouth and forget this whole messy night. But as my hand touched the doorknob, a sudden powerful sensation washed over me.

It was the same pull I'd felt at the auction... that intense primal attraction that made me bid a fortune on a woman I'd never seen... but it was a hundred times stronger now. It was like a magnetic force dragging me back toward her.

Frowning, I turned around. Alicia cried out as I strode back to the bed and leaned in close, ignoring her flinch.

I inhaled deeply, taking in her scent... fear, sweat, shame and something else... something buried deep beneath it all. Something uniquely irrevocably her!

And that's when it hit me with the truth of it exploding in my brain like a bomb.

It wasn't just an imprint! It wasn't just a strong physical attraction to a pretty human I could use to slake my sexual thirst. Alicia was my fated mate!!

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." I gasped, the words leaving my lips in a stunned whisper. I stumbled back from the bed, staring at her as if seeing her for the very first time.

Her eyes were wide, her fear momentarily eclipsed by shock at my shocked reaction. We just stared at each other with the air crackling with the unthinkable truth.

Without another word, I turned and practically fled the room, slamming the door shut behind me.

I headed straight for my study, beelining for the minibar. I grabbed a bottle of top-shelf whiskey, didn't bother with a glass and just started drinking. The liquor burned its way down my throat but it did nothing to dull the roaring in my head.

My fated mate...!

That night at the auction, the pull was strong, sure. I thought it was a powerful imprint. Imprints happen. We find humans we're chemically compatible with, it fulfills a need, we move on. It's convenient and simple.

But a fated mate? That's forever. That's bonds and destiny and a whole lot of complicated mystical bullshit I wanted no part of and she was human. It made no sense! My kind don't get human fated mates. It wasn't done.. it was a cosmic joke.

I drank until the room started to spin, trying to drown the realization. I must have passed out on the leather couch because the next thing I knew, the harsh ring of my phone was drilling into my skull. Dawn was just starting to bleed grey light through the windows.

I groaned, fumbling for the damn thing. My mouth tasted like ashes and regret.

"What?" I grunted with my voice raspy.

It was Damon.. his voice was sharp, clear and all business.

"We got the bastard, Boss..."

Dmitri's POV

The city was a blurred past as I pushed the accelerator, feeling the expensive engine of my Aston Martin roar in response.

The speedometer was kissing a number that would give any normal human a heart attack but my reflexes were more than enough to handle these clumsy slow-moving drivers.. they were like insects crawling across the pavement.

I had to get to the clubhouse. Damon's call had cut through the lingering fog of last night's whiskey with a sharp reminder that the world kept turning, mate or no mate.

I'd showered, changed and popped a piece of gum in my mouth to mask the scent of regret and alcohol bbut nothing could mask the new constant hum in my blood... the pull toward her.

In my rearview mirror, flashes of red and blue suddenly appeared. Great. Just what I needed.

A cop car was on my tail, its siren a pathetic little wail against the roar of my car. I sighed, downshifted and smoothly pulled over to the curb. Rule number one: don't make a spectacle for the public. It's bad for business.

I rolled down the window as the officer approached, his boots clicking on the asphalt. He had that swagger ready to lay into some rich jerk speeding through his city.

"License and registration, do you have any idea how fast you were..." he started with his voice a practiced growl then he saw my face.

His words died in his throat and the color drained from his cheeks so fast I almost felt sorry for him. Recognition pure and stark flashed in his eyes. He knew exactly who I was and more importantly, what I was.

"M-Mr. Hunt," he stammered, taking a half-step back. "Sir. I'm so sorry. I didn't... I didn't realize it was you."

I gave him a smile that didn't reach my eyes.

"It's quite all right, Officer. Just in a bit of a hurry. Urgent business."

"Of course, sir. My apologies again. Please, just... drive safely." He couldn't get away from the car fast enough, practically tripping over his own feet to retreat.

I gave him a curt nod and rolled up the window. Safely. What a concept.

Minutes later, I skidded into a parking space outside one of my less-glamorous clubhouses. The engine hadn't even finished coughing before I was out of the car and striding inside.

The main hall was quiet, the usual neon buzz muted in the morning light. A few dedicated souls were still passed out on couches and from behind closed doors, I could hear the grunts and moans of early morning sex. I ignored it all, my boots echoing on the sticky floor as I headed straight for the VIP section in the back.

Damon and a few of my other men were there, a small island of grim purpose in the sea of hangovers. They straightened up as I entered.

"Boss," they chorused.

My eyes went straight to the centerpiece of the room.. a man tied to a chair.

He was a mess, bleeding from a dozen places with one eye swollen shut. The coppery scent of his blood was everywhere in the air and the moment he saw me, he started to weep.

"Mr. Hunt! Please! I'm sorry! I'll never do it again, I swear! Never!"

I didn't even look at him. I looked at Damon.

"Did he talk?"

Damon nodded, his face all business.

"He did. Sang like a canary after a little... persuasion. Marcus Douglas paid him to keep an eye on shipments coming into the west side docks."

I nodded slowly. Marcus Douglas. That worm was becoming a serious nuisance. I held my hand out without a word. Damon knew what I wanted and he placed his pistol cool and heavy into my palm.

I flipped the safety off and the click was deafening in the quiet room.

The tied-up man sobbed louder.

"Please! I have a family! My wife... she's expecting twins! Please, think of my children!"

I finally looked at him, tilting my head.

"You should have thought of them before you decided to spy on me." I raised the gun, aiming right between his eyes. He was crying, snot mixing with the blood on his face. "Don't worry. I'll send your family a box of chocolates. Maybe toss in some flowers, too."

I pulled the trigger.

The bang was loud and final. The chair rocked back with the impact and I handed the smoking gun back to Damon.

He took it but he was looking at me with one eyebrow raised.

"Something wrong, Boss?"

"No. Why?"

"It's just... you vowed to flay the spy alive when we catch him. Make an example out of him but this was... quick."

I shrugged, turning away from the mess.

"Things change."

But I knew why. The pull was there, an insistent annoying tug in my chest, right behind my ribs.

Alicia..

I'd woken up wanting to see her. I'd left without seeing her and now just a few hours later, it felt like I'd been away for a year. I needed to get back.. now.

The look on Damon's face said he knew it too. That he'd connected the dots between my rushed exit last night.. my weird mood this morning and this uncharacteristic mercy killing. But he was smart.. he said nothing.

I didn't bother with goodbyes. I was back in the car, pushing it even faster through the streets now, heading home. The mansion was silent when I entered. The maids scurried out of my way, sensing my mood. I took the stairs two at a time, my focus narrowing to one door at the end of the hall.

Hers.

I paused just outside, my hand on the cool wood. Something was off.. my wolf which had been pacing restlessly inside me all morning suddenly went still. Then it growled in a low vicious sound that vibrated in my own chest.

Danger...

It wasn't a external threat. It was coming from inside the room. Was she hurt? Had someone gotten to her? A cold possessive fury started to boil in my veins. I turned the knob and pushed the door open calmly.

THWACK...!

Something impossibly hard and heavy smashed into the side of my head...!